Hugh Culverhouse Jr. and University of Alabama Make Nice
The leadership of the University of Alabama and the former law school donor have signaled an end to their very public dispute that led to the return of more than $21 million of law school funding and the removal of the donor's name from the law campus.
September 10, 2019 at 02:25 PM
3 minute read
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The University of Alabama and its controversial law school donor Hugh Culverhouse Jr. appear to have buried the hatchet, three months after a public feud culminated in the removal of Culverhouse's name from the law campus and the return of millions of dollars.
Both parties recently issued a joint statement saying they "agree that they had different views regarding the future of The University of Alabama School of Law."
"On that basis, the parties agreed to the university's return of the Culverhouse donations made for the benefit of the law school as well as reverting to the law school's original name," the statement reads. "All other statements made by either party regarding the decision to return Hugh Culverhouse Jr.'s donations, or the removal of Hugh Culverhouse Jr.'s name from The University of Alabama School of Law are hereby withdrawn."
It goes on to say that neither university officials nor Culverhouse will comment further on the dispute. That terse statement is a far cry from the heated words exchanged publicly by Culverhouse and the university in May, when officials moved to return more than $21 million that the donor had given to the law school and strip his name from the campus.
The campus had been renamed the Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. School of Law at the University of Alabama in September 2018, after the Florida-based attorney and real estate developer pledged $26.5 million. (Culverhouse had released more than $21 million of that amount when the spat occurred.)
But tensions arose between law school and university officials and Culverhouse in the ensuing months, according to correspondence later released by the university. Culverhouse clashed with law Dean Mark Brandon over the size of the law student body—he wished to see the school grow significantly, while Brandon worried that an increase would imperil the school's reputation. The emails also show that Culverhouse was unhappy with the candidates Brandon had assembled for an endowed professorship in constitutional law bearing his name.
But there was no public indication of problems until May 29, when Culverhouse called on out-of-state students to boycott the University of Alabama in protest of a new state law banning abortion in nearly every circumstance. He said his boycott call angered university leaders, prompting them to sever ties.
The university had a different take on the matter: Just days before Culverhouse released his call for a boycott, University of Alabama System Chancellor Finis St. John sent a memo to the board of trustees recommending the return of Culverhouse's entire donation and restoring the law school's previous name, the University of Alabama School of Law. The law school "will not be able to meet the donor's expectations and do not share the same vision for the future," St. John wrote.
A war of words followed, with Culverhouse saying the university's move to sever ties was in retaliation for his position against the abortion ban, while the university insisted it was prompted by Culverhouse's meddling in the law school's operations.
On June 7, the university's board of trustees voted unanimously to return Culverhouse's donation and remove his name from the law school.
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